'Downton Abbey' Season 4 trailer reveals Lady Edith's wild side

'Downton Abbey' Season 4 trailer

The Season 4 trailer for 'Downton Abbey.'

The Season 4 trailer for 'Downton Abbey.'

By Meredith Blake

Season 4 of "Downton Abbey" is already well underway in Britain, but until Jan. 5, when the costume drama finally returns to PBS, American fans will have to make do with the new 30-second teaser trailer to get their fix.

The operative word here is "tease." The clip, posted above, actually includes less information about the episodes ahead than the one-minute preview unveiled at the Television Critics Assn. press tour this summer and opens with the same stirring quote from the Dowager Countess Violet (Maggie Smith) to a bereaved Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery). "You have a straightforward choice before you. You must choose either death or life," says Violet, sounding eerily like a posh version of Ewan McGregor in "Trainspotting."

Overall there isn't much to be gleaned from the trailer that can't be discovered in a quick Google search or scan of the British press -- not that you'd want spoilers anyway! -- but it does include one tantalizing indication that Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) is living up to her budding reputation as "the Carrie Bradshaw of the '20s." And that alone makes it worth a click.